Private sector added 176,000 jobs in August

Zandi said that even with "remarkably consistent" hiring, there is an argument that job creation might have been more robust through the summer without the weight of the sequester.

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Predictions were for much slower growth through the summer and into the fall: around 125,000 a month instead of the higher average that is hovering near 200,000.

Even though hiring hasn't kicked into high gear, there is growing evidence that the market is getting close to picking up pace to significantly lower unemployment, which remains around 7 percent, Zandi said.

Those expectations are based on Congress raising the debt ceiling and funding the government in a "reasonably graceful way" while avoiding the dark scenarios coming out of Syria.

The Labor Department will release its August report of public- and private-sector jobs growth on Friday.

Small businesses — those with between 1 to 50 employees — added 71,000 jobs, while medium-sized businesses hired 74,000.